In this third installment (and last?) of The Matrix series, the machines attack the â€śreal earthâ€ť city of Zion, Neo (Reeves) and Agent Smith (Weaving) go head to head and the answers I was seeking are splurged my way carelessly.

THE LOWDOWN

Thatâ€™s it. Thatâ€™s it? THATâ€™S IT!!!! Those were the first words out of my mouth after seeing what is said to be the final installment of The Matrix franchise (unless it makes a ludicrous amount of dough, of course). Having loved the first "Matrix" to death and having enjoyed "Matrix Reloaded" mostly for its astounding action sequences, I came out of "Revolutions" very disappointed and angrier than a boner with no hole to fill.

Now is it me or have "The Matrix" sequels forgotten who their daddy was? The original Matrix sported awesome characters, a strong storyline and a fascinating mythology behind it all to boot. There was so much potential for an above the norm, classic sci-fi franchise. I was thinking the next "Star Wars" for our generation! Sadly, thatâ€™s not what we got. When "Matrix Reloaded" kicked in, it lost half of the seriesâ€™ endearing character development, went the â€śfortune cookieâ€ť way with its philosophy and pulled a fast one on us by negating what was established in the original. And now "Matrix Revolutions" took the series down to an all new low.

First off, everything that made "The Matrix" so damn razor kool was watered down. We got less insane martial arts fights, less enthralling gun play (that cheap rehash of the police scene from the first flick didnâ€™t kick enough ass), less groovy stylish directing, less impressive action set pieces and less bullet time (who knew Iâ€™d miss it). But worst of all, we got WAAAAAY less Neo (Reeves), Trinity (Moss) and Morpheus (Fishburne). The last I checked they were the lead characters! No? Shite, Trinity and Morpheus had extended cameos here as opposed to parts. And what happened to hip-kat Morpheus from the first Matrix? Even Reloaded had the class to give him a shining moment during the massive highway/car chase bonanza. Here, all he did was stand in the background and look fat. I half expected him to whip a burger out of his pocket during the main battle scene. DO SOMETHING MORPHEUS! What a waste of a once AWESOME character!

"Revolutions" also let me down in terms of the answers that I was expecting from it. I did my time on the video game, I watched "Animatrix" and I got jerked off enough by Reloadedâ€¦and really thought that it was finally time to cum! I was wrong. Every character here still spoke in half-cocked riddles and when all was said and done, it came down to this: Iâ€™m either a moron for not fully grasping what was revealed or the Wachowski Brothers are sloppy mofos for flipping their last cards in such an incoherent and anti-climatic fashion. Iâ€™m supposed to feel content with this finale? COME ON MAN! Iâ€™m even more bamboozled now than I was at the end of Reloaded! The only thing that is crystal clear to me is that Joel Silver and the Wachowski Brothers sacrificed quality and uniqueness for a quick paycheck.

What "Revolutions" did deliver though was some good old generic sci-fi action bits that could be found in any PC videogame. I actually reached under my seat to see if there was a joystick...I wanted to play! On one end, sure the CGI was the shite, some of the â€śmachines/weaponsâ€ť designs were slick, the action was ass-whooping and a couple of good ideas did surface. But what the hell do I care about an extended action jamboree if the people involved are of no interest to me? I kept thinking of "Aliens" while watching this flick and about how great it was due to the fact that Hudson, Hicks, Vasquez and all were likeable and developed enough to keep me in the game on a deeper level than just intense shootouts. Here, all we got were B.C. actors who were not from B.C., acting or over-acting against a horde of CGI beasties. It was gnarly at first, on a cosmetic level, but without any human investment...it became old very quickly.

As a regular, stand alone sci-fi action flick, "The Matrix Revolutions" was somewhat entertaining throughout, laying the carnage on thick and moving at a clip pace. The highlight was definitely the over-the-top final battle between Neo and Agent Smith (loved the lightning) which itself had "Superman 2" ringing in my head. VERY NICE! Too bad that money set piece was inserted into such an average movie, and even more so when you consider that this was the final Matrix. REBOOT or SHUT OFF this franchise! ITâ€™S DONE!

GORE

We get a stabbing, face slashing, impaling and blood splashes.

ACTING

Keanu Reeves (Neo) did what he had to do, not much of a part. Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity) did what she had to do, not much of a part. Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus) looked fat and stood in the background. Hey man, youâ€™re playing MORPHEUS! A fly warrior, not a FAT BASTARD! Lay off the BK Fishburne and hit those weights! Jada Pinkett Smith (Niobe) carried herself well and once more impressed me by not getting on my nerves. Iâ€™ll never forgive her for almost ruining "Return to Paradise" for me with her GRATING show. Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith) rocked once more as the eloquent villain.

T & A

The ladies get Morpheusâ€™ big, fat block of a head. We get nothing.

DIRECTING

Although the flick was more subdued in terms of show-off style to accommodate the ludicrous amount of CG in the film, when given the chance to work it, the Brothers still came through with rock solid use of slow motion, tight angles and well shot fights scenes. The flick didnâ€™t look or feel as â€śkoolâ€ť as the other Matrix films though.

SOUNDTRACK

The brilliant score by Don Davis often elevated the emotional content of scenes even when there was no emotion in it. The church-like chorale score gave the final battle so much more impact. GOOD JOB!

BOTTOM LINE

"Reloaded" is looking like a freaking classic next to this one. I expected "Revolutions" to give me some gratifying answers, to reclaim the depth of the first "Matrix" and to end it all with a novel make-my-head-bleed uppercut. What I got instead was an average sci-fi action flick, devoid of any stamp of uniqueness. If I wanted that, I wouldâ€™ve rented a "Star Trek" sequel. This is "The Matrix", man! Since I was so underwhelmed by it, and knowing that it was the final chapter of the Matrix trilogy, I couldnâ€™t let myself have as much fun with it as I could have. Maybe if I see it again with my expectations on the ground, Iâ€™ll dig it more, but â€śas isâ€ť ...Iâ€™m still asking myself: WHAT IS THE MATRIX? And more importantly WHY DID THEY HAVE TO PULL A RUSH JOB on its conclusion? Bummerâ€¦

BULL'S EYE

Gloria Foster (The Oracle in Part 1 and 2) died before she could shoot her scenes for REVOLUTIONS. She was replaced by Mary Alice.

Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions were shot back-to-back in Australia and California.